NOLA, the Big Easy - New Orleans is a city of many different names. But whatever you want to call it, it's a place brimming with food, fun and amazing buildings. Here are three top recommendations not to miss out on...

For many the most stressful aspect of taking a proper vacation is the horror of returning to hundreds even thousands of unread emails... What are your options? ... declare email bankruptcy, delete the lot and wait for someone to re-contact you about anything either urgent or important.

The range of adventure in Uganda is wide and hair-raising. Activities include game viewing, fishing trips, water fall cruises, silverback gorilla safari treks, white water rafting, African rainforest camping, chimp trekking and swamp walking. So having two days off to enjoy the country, of course I, chose the sedate activity of cruising down the Nile.

Now that spring has finally sprung, it's not surprising that many of us have started to think about where we'd like to holiday this year. The promise of sun, sea and sand in some exotic location far, far away can be a heady concoction, but what we're actually seeing is a rise in Brits holidaying closer to home, city breaks and 'staycations'.

Sometimes I think getting overcharged is part of travel but it doesn't have to be like that. I am currently on a short break in Turkey and I made up some rules about how to get the most out of being in Istanbul without getting fleeced.

I have high hopes for the summer - in terms of both weather and activities. While you're snuggling up with your hot water bottle and sipping your cup of tea, have a think about the following reasons to stay in Britain for this year's holiday.

Easter is celebrated like Christmas in our family. A rigid, clockwork routine year in, year out starting with the family breakfast, invasion of cousins, the Easter egg hunt (by mum - a notorious expert hider) and church.

Unlike any other place I have visited, Kefalonia has stolen my heart hook, line and sinker. But I'm not the only one. Year after year, you see the same faces arriving at the airport heading back to their favourite spot for another few weeks in paradise.

Visitors from China are also big spenders when they are here. Typically Chinese visitors will spend in the region of £1,600 while in the UK - nearly three times the average tourist spend, according to Visit Britain.

A holiday doesn't need to be two weeks somewhere far flung, with soaring temperatures, in order to recharge our batteries. Even taking a couple of days off work to go for a walk somewhere new, eat in a different restaurant, or even sleep in a different bed can radically change the 'work' mindset.

Arriving at the wrong time of year is an easy mistake to make, particularly on a long-haul holiday. You could land in the middle of a tropical cyclone. You may find you've paid over the odds to travel in the peak season, when the 'off' season would have been just as good.

I listened to the tolling of temple bells while worshippers poured water over tiny Buddhas as an exercise of purification. Entire families were relaxing in the shadows as dusk descended while hundreds of candles were lit.

Romanian food is interesting - we started each day with a traditional breakfast of bread, cheese, peppers, raw onion, pig fat, and two types of pork offal sausages. I won't lie to you, not my choice for a delicious way to start the day

My guess is that we're not too far away from hand baggage only flights. As air travel increases but efforts of airlines to bring excess baggage handling costs into a reasonable price bracket remain non-existent, it can only go one way; passengers will stop checking in luggage and there will be no need for the airline to spend money on handling services.